Spinach washer and blancher



Aug. 12, 1930. c. J. LANE SPINACH WASHER AND BLANCHER Filed Aug. 10, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet I .I w M .l.. m l. n I Um W Wi h u w LN i INVENTOR. elm/a 701.17. j Mud, 2/744, v

ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 12, 1930. c. J. LANE SPINACH WASHER AND BLANCHER Filed Aug. 10. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a W p W i Q l-mented Au 12, 1930 UNITED STATES CLARKE J. LANEQOF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA SPINACH WASHER AND BLANC'HER Continuation of application Serial No. 170,084, filed February 23, 1927. This application filed August 1 0,

1927. Serial No. 211,957.

This invention relates to a method and means of treating fruits and vegetables, and particularly pertains to a spinach washing and blanchingmachine and is a continuationof my application Spinach washer and blancher, filed February 23, 1927, Serial No. 170,084.

V In the preparation of fruits and vegetables for the market and in certain instances preparatory to canning, it is necessary to thoroughly wash fruit or vegetables and in some instances to blanch them, and it isthe principal object of the present invention to provide means whereby fruit-and vegetablesmay be readily and thoroughly washed by mechanical means and whereby the articles may thereafter be properly blanchedand rendered ready for further operations.

The present invention contemplates the use of a washing tank along and within which fruit or ve etables may be advanced in a turbulent was ing bath, saidtank being fitted at one end with means for elevating the'articles from the bath and delivering them tosuitable drying and packing means or to a blanching device by whichlthe articles are blanched by the action of steam. 1

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which-- c Figure 1 is a view in plan illustratingthe complete apparatus with which the present invention is concerned. v

Figure 2 isa view in side elevation showing the washing and blanching apparatus.

Figure 3is an enlarged view in plan showing the settling tank.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section showing one endof the washing tank, the elevating means leadlng to the blanching apparatus, and a portion of the settling tank disposed therebeneath.

Figure 5 is a view in vertical section through the settling tank as seen on the line 55 of Figure 4. o

Figure 6 is an enlarged view in vertical section through the washing tank as-seen on the line 66of Figure 2. y

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and f the drawings, it willbe seen that the present apparatusconsists of a washingapparatuslO, a blanching apparatus 11, and a settling tank structure 12. a The washing apparatus comprises a horizontally disposed tank 13, which may be ofany desired length,

dependent upon the necessarywa-shing opera I tion. This tank is formed with opposite vertical sides 14 and 15 and a bottom 16. The bottom inclines from the opposite ends 17 and 18 toward the longitudinal center of the tank where a drain pipe 19 is in communication with the tank and will permit the material in the tank to be drained therefrom as controlled by valve 20.

As shown in Figure 6 of the drawing, the

tank is formed with a false bottom 21, which comprises parallel longitudinally extending slats 22. These slats are of triangular cross section and form intervening troughs through which the dirt and silt,which has been washed fromthe articles,may pass to the compartment 23 beneath the false flooring. This insures that a large amount of foreign matter will be removed from the turbulent area in the tank,

in an upward direction. Due to the fact,

as will hereinafter be described, that the pipes 27 are at all, times submerged, it will be understood that the jets'will create ebullition of the liquid and insure that the entire body of liquid above the false floor 21 will be in a constant state of turbulence.

The pipes 27 are united by a lateral header 29, at one end, and are united at the opposite end to a distributing manifold 30. Valves 31 control the flow of liquid from the manifold 30 to the individual pipes. The manifold 30 communicates with a feed pipe 31, by which fresh water may be supplied as controlled by valve 32. This manifold also connects with a return circulating pipe 33 leading to a pump -l and by which liquid is drawn from the washing tank 13 and is delivered then to the agitating pipes 27 for further use.

As shown in Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings, the volume of water within the washing tank 13 will assume substantially the level indicated at a. This level is sutliciently above the agitating pipes 27 as to in- 1 sure that the articles being washed will float oughly clean them.

upon the water and may travel lengthwise of the tank in the direction of the arrow (5 as the tank is drained by pump 34.

Disposed at intervals throughout the length of wa hing tank 13 and in spaced parallel relation to each other laterally of the tank. are pipes iiti. which communicate with the distributing return pipe 33, and which are individually controlled by valves 37. These pipes. as shown in Figure 6 of the drawing. are formed with openings 38 in their under faces and at spaced intervals throughout the length of the pipe.. Jets of water are thus projected downwardly against the surface of the washing bath with suiticient force to cause the articles travelling lengthwise of the tank and floating in the bath to be submerged and turned over at intervals so that they will not only be subjected to the. turbulence of the bath in the washing peration, but will be forced downwardly into the liquid and violently chm-lied" to loosen the dirt and to thor- This is of particular advantage in connection with the treatment of spinach in which small particles of dirt and other extraneous matter adheres to the leaves. Disposed at the discharge end of the washing tank is an endless conveyor 39, which acts as an elevator for the articles floating in the washing bath and causes the that the steam wi l have thorough access to all the particles of the spinach and will perform a thorough blanching action. It is one of the Part cular advanta es of the present invention that the conveying apparatus here disclosed uniformly distributes the material being washed and subjects it to the blanching action in continuous and uniform quantities so that the blanching action will be thoroughly accomplished.

The conveying mechanism may be of any desired construction, although it is here shown as comprising sproclnds 4:2 carried upon a transverse shaft 4- submerged within the bath of the washing tank 13, and which sprockets carry lateral slats H upon which the articles may be deposited and by which they will be elevated into the blanching apparatus. The upper run of the conveyor includes an inclined section of travel (indicated by the arrow 6 in Figure 4) and a horizontal section of travel, as indicated by the arrow 0 in the same figure. The angle of inclination of the portion 7/ in such as to insure that the articles tlv'iating on the surface of the bath will frictionally engage the conveyor and will remain in frictional contact therewith as the articlesarc elevated. The section 0 is of sutlicient length to insure that the articles will be properly blanched during their horizontal path of travel by the steam pipes 45 and 46 disposed above and below the upper horizontal run of the conveyor. These pipes are formed with perforations 47 in their disposing faces, which perforations perm t iets of steam to project vertically against and through the opposite sides of the upper horizontal run of the conveyor 39. These jets of steam will perform a thorough and uniform blanching action and will operate more successfully in a great many instances than would be the case if the articles were submerged in boiling water.

The condensed liquid draining from the articles while passing through the blanching apparatus will be caught in a drain pan 48 and will flow into the launder 3:), thereafter assing to'the pump 34. The settling tank is formed with a plurality of staggered baflie plates 49, which are alternately arranged to insure that the drain liquid flowing into the settling tank at the end adjacent the washing tank 12 will thereafter pursue a sinuous path of travel in a vertical plane over and under the alternate battle plates 49" until the end of the tank is reached. During this sinuous flow of the liquid, thc'suspended matter therein will settle out of the liquid and will insure that the previously used washing liquid will be of a turbidity,

which is satisfactory to permit the liquid to again be used in washing incoming material.

In the operation of the present invention, the articles to be washed, as for example. spinach leaves, are dumped into the end of the washing tank 13 adjacent the end wall 18, the level of the liquid bath having previously been established at approximately the line indicated at in Figures 2 and (i. The spinach will then be buoyantly supported on the liquid and. due to thccontinurms over flow of the liquid at the opposite end. itwill gradually pass lengthwise of the washing tanln During the entire travel, however, the. volume. o't liquid, which is normally disposed llltl above the false bottom 21 of the tank 13, will be continuously agitated by the upwardly pro ecting ets of water which are forced from openings 28 in the submerged agitating pipes jected at intervals to the downwardly pro jecting action of the jets of water passing from openings 38 in the lateral pipes36;

These jets will impinge against the material and force it downwardly into the turbulent bath in a manner to. cause it to turn over and to be churned around with a resultant scrubbing action. 1

When the articles reach the end of the tank adjacent the elevator 39, they will be spread out upon the surface of the liquid, which at this point is not under the influence of agitation by upper or lower jets and is therefore substantially at rest. This is due to the fact that the water with the articles being washed passes over a wier plate 54 adjacent the elevating conveyor 39. At the same time the wash water will be rapidly drawn over this plate into pipe 50 by the pump 34. The result is that the articles are uniformly spread across the washing tank 13 and are uniformly distributed upon the elevating conveyor 39 without being damaged while being properly disposed for the. blanching operatlon. The material, such as spinach, will then be distributed over the surface of the liquid in a predetermined thickness and when it encounters the inclined portion b of the endless conveyor 39, it will engage the conr veyor and be carried upwardly and through the blanching apparatus, where it will be subjected on upper and lower sides to the blanching actionof steam jets, which will tend to not only blanch the material, but

loosen the wa ter therefrom and cause it to emerge from the blanching apparatus in a clean and crisp condition. v g

All of the water which has drained from the material being treated, will then pass through the settling tank and may thereafter be re-delivered to the jets of the washing tank by the action of the pump 34.

It will thus be seen that by the method here disclosed the continuous washing of fruit and vegetables may be carried on by an apparatus which may be adjusted to meet conditions present in connection with the treatment of material of various characters and requiring varying degrees of vigorous treatment, and that said material may be automatically removed from the tank without possibility of crushing or damagingin handling and may thereafter be uniformly subjected to the blanching action of steam as it passes to other and subsequent treating apparatus.

v\Vhile I have shown the preferred form of ray-invention as now known to me, it willbe understood that various changes might be made 1n the comblnatlon. construction and arrangementof parts by those skilled in'the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the character described,

a washing tank within and through which a bath of water has an end to end flow and upon the surface of which articles are buoyantly supported and conveyed, means within;

the tank for setting the surface portion of the bath of water in a condition of turbulence by submerged agitation of the bath, and other means disposed at intervals throughout the length of travel of the bath andthereabove for creating counter turbulence from above the surface of the bath.

2. In a device of the character described. a washing tank having a false floor therein, above which the level of a bath of washing liquid is maintained, means substantially at the level of the perforate floor and submerged within the liquid for creating turbulence above the false floor, said floor having openings therethrough at points between the turbulence means for permitting solid particles in the liquid to gravitate through thefloor and to be entrapped in the liquid therebeneath.

3. In a device of the character described, a

washing tank havinga false floor therein, above which the level of a bath of washing liquid is maintained, means substantially at the level of the perforate floor and submerged within the liquid for creating turbulence above thefalse floor, said floor having openings therethrough at points between the turbulence means for permitting solid particles in the liquid to gravitate through the floor.

and to be entrapped in the liquid therebeneath, and means arranged transversely of the bath and above the surface thereof for acting upon and violently agitating the liquid at intervals throughout its path of travel.

4. In a device of the character described, a washing tank. means for delivering liquid into one end of said tank, and for permitting it to overflow at the opposite end of the tank whereby apredetermined level of liquid may be maintained within the tank, and an end flow of the liquid will be'created. a false perforate floor extending longitudinally of the tank and submerged within the liquid at a desired depth below the surface of the liquid, means extendin longitudinally of said floor whereby jets water will be violently projected upwardly into the body of liquid above the false flooring to create a turbulent condition therein, and a plurality of laterally arranged sets of water jets adapted to project the water downwardly against the surface of the liquid at intervals along its path of travel and whereby increased agitation of the liquid and articles jointly carried thereby will be effected.

5. In a device of the character described, a washing tank, means for delivering liqui into one end of said tank, means for withdrawing liquid from the other end of said tank whereby buoyant articles carried by the liquid will have an end to end travel of the tank, an endless elevating conveyor disposed at the end of the tank to which the articles travel, and a member extending down to the surface of the liquid and under which the buoyant articles must pass as they are carried with the liquid, and by which member the articles are spread over the surface of the liquid in a uniform layer to thereafter pass onto an endless conveyor.

6. In a device of the character described, a washing tank, means for delivering liquid into one end of said tank, means for withdrawing liquid from the other end of said tank whereby buoyant articles carried by the liquid will have an end to end travel of the tank, an endless elevating conveyor disposed at the end of the tank to which the articles travel, and a member extending down to the surface of the liquid and under which the buoyant articles must pass as they are carried with the liquid, and by which member the articles are spread over the surface of the liquid in a uniform layer to thereafter pass onto an endless conveyor, and a pump at-( tached at the end of the tank toward which the liquid flows and by which the liquid may be continuously and positively withdrawn 13m said tank.

7. A device of the character described comprising a relatively narrow and long washing tank through which a bath of water has an end to end flow and upon the surface of which bath articles may be buoyantly supported and conveyed, means acting beneath the surface of the water and means acting above the surface of the water to agitate the same and to wash the articles buoyantly conveyed therealong, an endless conveyor disposed adjacent the eduction end of the tank and having a run presenting a surface continuously moving upwardly and outwardly from the bath and intercepting the path of travel of the buoyant articles at the surface of the bath, and a member projecting downwardly into the path of travel of the articles in advance of said endless conveyor and ada ted to spread the articles out upon the sur ace of the conveyor whereby they may be d ings through which solid matter ling delivered in an evenly distributed uniform thickness onto the conveyor and to be thereafter elevated from the bath.

8. A device of the character described comprising awashing tank, means for delivering liquid into the tank and for permitting it to overflow at one end thereof, whereby a predetermined level of li uid will be maintained and the liquid will ow toward said end of the tank, a false floor extending longitudinally of the tank and submerged in the liquid thereof, said floor being formed with openmay settle into the relatively motionless body of li uid beneath the floor, a plurality of water ischarge jets occurring along and above the floor and arranged in rows longitudinally of the tank whereby the body of the liquid above the false floor will be agitated, a plurality of water discharge jets arranged in rows extendlaterally of the tank and at spaced intervals throughout the length thereof whereby the surface of the body of liquid ma be agitated, a weir plate spaced from the ischarge end of the tank and having its upper edge submerged beneath the surface of the liquid a distance to permit buoyantly supported-articles to float over said edge and into a zone where the liquid is relatively quiet, a downwardly extending baflle member terminating adjacent the surface of the liquid within said quiet zone and whereby the articles buoyantly supported on the liquid will be spread to a uniform thickness as they travel beneath said members, and an endless conveyor within said relatively quiet body of water presenting a continuous surface against which said uniformly spread, articles may flow and upon which they will be disposed as elevated upon the rising surface of the said conveyor.

9. In a device of the character described, a tank within which a body of water is maintained and upon the surface of which articles are buoyantly supported as they movelengthwise of the tank, a weir plate disposed adjacent the discharge end of the tank and sub- 1 merged within the body of water whereby its upper edge will be a predetermined distance below the surface of the water thus tending to spread the articles buoyantly floating on the water and to create a relatively stagnant body of water at one end of the'tank, a baflle member having a convexed'endterminating adjacent the surface of the water and acting to spread and arrange the buoyantly supported articles at a predetermined depth over the surface of the water, and an endless conveyor against which said articles move and along which they will be continuously spread to the predetermined uniform depth as they are elevated upon the conveyor.

CLARKE J. LANE. 

